Towboat owner accuses ship of speeding in lawsuit over crash

Suit claims skipper not at fault in crash

A collision with a towboat and its barges left a dent on the front of the Summer Wind. The two owners in the collision each say they're not to blame.

A collision with a towboat and its barges left a dent on the front...

The Houston-based owner of the towboat and barge struck and sunk by a Liberian bulk carrier last month in one of the biggest Texas oil spills in two decades alleges in a federal court filing that the Liberian vessel was speeding in Galveston Bay despite heavy fog, did not take evasive action and proved itself both "dangerous" and "unseaworthy."

Kirby Inland Marine, owner of the towboat, the Miss Susan, conceded no fault on the part of the boat's skipper in the March 22 accident, in which 168,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil leaked from a pierced tank in the damaged barge and fouled Texas waters and coastal beaches. Instead, Kirby is seeking compensation from Sea Galaxy Marine, the owner of the bulk carrier, the M/V Summer Wind, for losses "in excess of $10 million" related to the cleanup and other costs.

Kirby's filing came in response to a "limitation of liability" filed by Sea Galaxy, in which the Monrovia, Liberia-based owner claimed it bore no responsibility for the accident, a procedure often used in federal court cases by employers blamed for U.S. maritime accidents.

The crash occurred at 12:35 p.m. on a foggy Saturday, only minutes after Kirby's towboat captain radioed others on a public U.S. Coast Guard channel of plans to cross the Houston Ship Channel at the Texas City Y, one of the world's busiest shipping intersections.

The Miss Susan chugged along at only about 7 mph, pushing two tank barges loaded with more than a million gallons of oil. As the towboat began to cross, the 585-foot Liberian vessel approached more rapidly, Coast Guard records indicate.

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"While the Summer Wind knew of the Miss Susan's position, at no time did it attempt to adjust its speed or heading to avoid the vessel," Kirby alleges in its filing. "The collision occurred, among other reasons, due to the Summer Wind's excessive, unreasonable speed."

The Summer Wind had both its own captain and a Houston-based pilot aboard in the Ship Channel, where there is no speed limit. Sea Galaxy Marine says in its filing that the vessel was properly operated and in all respects seaworthy - "in fact, tight, staunch, strong, properly and sufficiently manned, crewed, supplied, equipped and furnished, and well and sufficiently fitted with suitable engines (and) machinery... ," the filing states.

Liability limit sought

Sea Galaxy Marine's attorneys asked the court earlier this month to exonerate the company and to limit liability, if any, to no more than the $9.3 million value of its 19-year-old ship. The Summer Wind is operated by Greece-based Cleopatra Shipping Agency Ltd., court filings show.

Experts who reviewed U.S. Coast Guard vessel traffic recordings of the accident at the Houston Chronicle's request have said the Miss Susan's captain seemed to have erred by failing to yield to the larger ship before attempting to cross the Ship Channel. But they agreed skippers on both vessels appeared to have violated so-called "rules of the road" by failing to discuss sooner how and when they were going to safely pass each other and by failing to take adequate evasive action.

On a collision course

U.S. Coast Guard tapes of radio traffic before the crash show that by the time the two skippers first spoke, their vessels were on a collision course, according to a copies of the tapes obtained by the Chronicle through a Freedom of Information Act request.

"I'm looking at everything. I'm fixing to start to cross the intersection down to Bolivar. How do I look to you?" the as-yet unidentified Miss Susan crewman asked.

"Well, if you keep on going, I'm going to get you," a Houston-based pilot aboard the Summer Wind responded.

Investigations by the U.S. Coast Guard and by the National Transportation and Safety Board remain pending. Coast Guard officials so far have declined to release accident reports or identify skippers aboard either vessel.

Ship left last week

In early April, the Summer Wind was "arrested" by attorneys representing Kirby and other plaintiffs, who received federal court authority to detain the ship, which travels worldwide, while they gathered evidence for a series of four civil lawsuits stemming from the spill.

Those lawsuits have been filed on behalf of hundreds of commercial and sport fishermen, local business owners and cruise ship passengers who have alleged their lives or their livelihoods were harmed by the accident and the oil spill.

But a federal judge ultimately allowed the Summer Wind to depart for Africa with a load of grain last week after ship owners agreed to make crew members available later for interviews and after the ship's insurance company filed a letter verifying adequate coverage. Attorney Dmitri Georgantas, representing Sea Galaxy Marine, declined to comment further, citing the pending Coast Guard investigation.

Kirby has informed the court that it, too, will soon file a similar "limitation of liability" - a legal procedure that imposes deadlines and caps on maritime accident claims.

"Obviously when lawsuits are filed there's a certain time line, so certainly in that forum we have to do what we're compelled to do," he said. "But beyond that, I think we want to wait for the different investigations to come to a conclusion before we express our thoughts."